Bio Exam 2025

Biodiversity

All the different types of living things. 

Phylogenic Tree

A family tree but for species. 

Phylogeny

Figuring out which species are related. 

Carl Linnaeus

The guy who made up the 2-name system (like Homo sapiens). 

Systematics

Sorting and organizing living things. 

Taxonomy

Fancy word for classifying stuff. 

Taxon (Domain to Species)

The levels from biggest to smallest group (Domain → Species). 

Prokaryote

Simple cell, no nucleus (like bacteria). 

Eukaryote

Complex cell, has a nucleus (like humans). 

Monerans

Old term for bacteria (prokaryotes). 

Cladistics

Grouping species by who shares the same ancestors.

Scaled/Unscaled Cladogram

Charts that show relationships.

Scaled = time included.

Unscaled = just order. 

Bacteria

Tiny single-celled cells; can be good or bad. 

Prokaryotic

Cell with no nucleus (bacteria). 

Microflora

Good bacteria in your gut or skin.

Flagella

Whip-like tail to help bacteria move. 

Coccus

Round-shaped bacteria. 

Bacillus

Rod-shaped bacteria. 

Spirillum

Spiral-shaped bacteria. 

Unicellular

One cell only. 

Capsule

Outer slime layer of some bacteria. 

Gram-positive/negative

Types of bacteria based on how thick their cell walls are. 

Gram += purple 

Gram -= pink 

Cell wall/peptidoglycan

Hard outer part of bacteria made of sugar+protein. 

Nucleoid

DNA area in bacteria (no nucleus). 

Plasmid

Extra bits of DNA bacteria can share. 

Endospore

Survival shell for bacteria in tough times. 

Diplo

Bacteria in pairs. 

Staphylo

Bacteria in clusters (like grapes). 

Strepto

Bacteria in chains. 

Tetrad

Four bacteria stuck together. 

Sarcina

Cube of 8 bacteria. 

Psuedoplasmodium

Fake slime mold blob made of many cells.

Fungi

Mushrooms, mold, yeast; not plants. 

Hyphae

Long threads in fungi. 

Mycelium

Big tangle of hyphae (body of fungus). 

Chitin

What fungus cell walls are made of. 

Differentiation

Cells becoming different types (like skin, brain, etc). 

Conjugation

Two fungi or bacteria share DNA. 

Spores

Fungi babies, float in air. 

Budding

Asexual reproduction; baby grows off the side.

Yeast

Single-cell fungi that make bread & beer

Aerobic

Needs oxygen

Facultative anaerobe

Can go with or without oxygen. 

Obligate anaerobe

Oxygen kills it. 

Autotroph

Makes its own food (like plants). 

Heterotroph

Has to eat food (like us). 

Chemoautotroph

Makes food using chemicals.

Photosynthetic

Makes food using sunlight. 

Parasite

Lives off other organisms. 

Saprobe

Eats dead stuff. 

Binary Fission

Cell splits in two (like copy/paste). 

Transformation

Bacteria picks up free DNA. 

Transduction

Virus gives DNA to bacteria. 

Conjugation

Bacteria gives DNA to another with a sex pilus

Sex Pilus

Little tube to pass DNA between bacteria. 

Capsid

Protein shell of a virus. 

Bacteriophage

Virus that infects bacteria 

Prophage

Virus DNA hiding in host DNA. 

Retrovirus

Virus with RNA, uses reverse transcriptase (like HIV). 

Prion

Bad protein that messes up your brain. 

Viroid

tiny strand of RNA that infects plants. 

Protists

Odd group of not-quite-plants, not-quite-animals. 

Multicellular

Made of more than one cell. 

Eukaryotic

Has a nucleus. 

Protozoa

Animal-like protists (move & eat stuff). 

Apicomplexa, Zooflagellates, Ciliates, Amoeboids

Different ways protozoa move. 

Cilia

Tiny hairs for movement. 

Pseudopod

"Fake foot" blob for crawling. 

Algae (brown, green, red)

Plant-like protists that photosynthesize. 

Filamentous

Long and stringy. 

Colonial

Live in groups but not one body. 

Diatoms

Glassy cell wall, do photosynthesis. 

Dinoflagellates

Protists with flagella, cause red tide. 

Euglenoids

Can photosynthesize AND eat stuff. 

Slime molds

Fungus-like protists that crawl and eat. 

Plasmodium

Protist that causes malaria. 

Mycosis/Mycoses

Fungal infection. 

Zygomycota, Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Deuteromycota

Types of fungi. 

Lichens

Algae + fungi living together. 

Tinea

Athlete’s foot or ringworm. 

Histoplasmosis

Lung infection from fungus in bird poop

Candidiasis

Yeast infection. 

Mitosis

Cell splits into two identical ones. 

Meiosis

Makes sex cells (half the DNA). 

Haploid

Half DNA (gametes). 

Diploid

Full DNA (normal body cells). 

Spore

Plant baby cell that grows without fertilization. 

Gamete

Egg or sperm. 

Zygote

Egg + sperm = baby cell. 

Sporophyte

Diploid plant stage that makes spores. 

Gametophyte

Haploid stage that makes gametes. 

Bryophyte

Mosses, no veins. 

Vascular Tissue

Tubes to move stuff inside plant. 

Pteridophyte

Ferns, have veins but no seeds. 

Xylem

Moves water up. 

Phloem

Moves sugar down. 

Angiosperm

Flowering plants. 

Gymnosperm

Cone plants (like pine trees). 

Chromosome

Bundle of DNA. 

Homologous pair

Chromosome twins (one from mom, one from dad).